The Camera Obscura
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Cover Story
The cover illustration for this issue is by Tony Ross for Allan Ahlberg’s latest addition to the ‘Happy Family’ series, Miss Dirt the Dustman’s Daughter. We are grateful to Puffin Books for their help in producing the cover of this November issue.
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The Camera Obscura
This book's cover proclaims Scott a 'Master of Menace' and he is indeed a seriously under-rated writer - yet this novel has as much in it about redemption as menace. The Camera Obscura puts Spindletrim Tom centre-stage, constantly bullied by three boys, with his only oasis of peace his grandfather's antique shop. When the bullies invade this haven, Grandfather shows Tom the camera obscura - a way of seeing past, present and future - and so helps him discover the inner strength to defeat the boys. Memorable prose, a faultlessly paced storyline and a moral dilemma solved by peaceful means, add up to a 'must have' for classroom and library.
